Enhancing the quality of palliative care for children with cancer: A nation-wide train-the-trainer educational initiative

Abstract

It is now widely endorsed that palliative care (PC) principles should be integrated into the routine care of all children diagnosed with cancer, not only those at end of life (1). However, paediatric health professionals report receiving little training in PC (2), and bereaved parents continue to report suboptimal care throughout the disease course (3,4). It is crucial that all health professionals caring for children with cancer receive comprehensive education about evidence-based PC and support to implement new knowledge. To achieve these goals, we will implement a national `roll-out' of Education in Palliative and End-of-Life Care for Pediatrics (EPEC (R)-Pediatrics), using a `train-the-trainer' model.